Responsibility and Judgment Blog Posting

In John Locke’s Second Treatises of Government, when the state ceases to function for the people, then it may be replaced by the people. When the executive ignores its duties, society turns to chaos and people are free to reform in order to re-create a civil state that works in their best interest before they fall under tyrannical rule. People may leave a government not necessarily to cause rebellion, but just to avoid collective responsibility. People who avoid collective responsibility, may do it because they want to avoid for instance, the decision making process of who gets to judge executive and legislative acts. According to Aristotle, the community exists so that people can have a good life. Anyone who lives outside the community are not self-sufficient, because they need it to maintain themselves morally in order to know what is the right way to live.

We can escape this political and strictly collective responsibility only by leaving the community, and since no man can live without belonging to some community, this would simply mean to exchange one community for another and hence one kind of responsibility for another. (Arendt 150)

Volunteering at Marin Aids Project has been rewarding because I know that my time and talents are being used to encourage the development of others in the agency. As a receptionist and by helping others with computer assistance, I’m learning how the community works and the difference even a small level of help can make. I know that by being there at Marin Aids Project that I’m making our community a better place to live. According to Aristotle, the good that you do for the community, you also do for yourself. I agree with him because no one can avoid living without the community, and its difficult to do so. With that in mind, what I’ve learned at Marin Aids, is that we can come to an understanding of moral excellence in any community that we are a part of.

Arendt, Hannah. Responsibility and Judgment. Random House, Inc. 2005